UNEXPECTED FAMILY...

After a tour in Afghanistan and years as a trauma surgeon, Alonso Marquez needs to get out of Albuquerque and away from his past. A trip seems like the perfect solution, but he doesn’t make it far. Sparks fly when Alonso stops to help a gorgeous rancher fix her car, and just like that his road trip is cut short by one very hot night...with some very real consequences.

Hannah Buck didn’t plan on starting a family that night. Her hands are already full managing the ranch and helping her troubled half brother. But Hannah sees the good in Alonso and knows he will be an incredible dad to their baby—if only he could see it, too. Alonso has spent his life saving others. Now, with Hannah at his side, can he finally save himself?

“If my staying tonight is going to cause problems for you...”

“I don’t care what anyone says about me.” Besides, her family had been the topic of gossip for years in Paradise. Alonso would give them something new to chat about.

Seconds ticked by, then Alonso reached across the seat and brushed a strand of loose hair from her face. She didn’t want the night to end. Didn’t want to leave his side.

“Alonso?”

“What?”

“Do you ever get lonely?” Until she’d sat across the table from him at the restaurant, Hannah hadn’t consciously acknowledged the depth of her loneliness.

“Yes.” His quiet answer made her heart pound.

This is crazy. You hardly know the man.

She couldn’t argue with the voice in her head but the strength to resist a night in Alonso’s arms had fled the instant he’d pulled her close on the dance floor. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she whispered.

He leaned across the seat and slid his hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t want to be alone, either.”

And then he kissed her.

Dear Reader,

The world can be a scary, ugly place. Many of us have given up, thrown in the towel or lost hope at one time or another. It’s usually during those dark days when someone comes into our lives and shows us that not all is lost.

In The Surgeon’s Christmas Baby, no one is more world-weary than Alonso Marquez. As a trauma surgeon he’s seen far too much death and destruction to hold any faith in humanity. That is until he meets Hannah Buck. Hannah shows Alonso that love is the key to unlocking the beauty and goodness which still exists in the world. When Hannah becomes pregnant by accident, Alonso is terrified of bringing a child into a world where bad always wins over good. It’s only through Hannah’s love that Alonso finds the courage to leave the darkness behind and reach for a life filled with love and joy that only a family can bring.

I hope you enjoy Alonso and Hannah’s journey to their very own happy-ever-after. If you missed the first story in the Cowboys of the Rio Grande series, The Cowboy’s Redemption (June 2015) is still available through your favorite online retailers.

You can find out more about me and my books at marinthomas.com. I love to connect with my readers and invite you to follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorMarinThomas and Twitter at twitter.com/MarinThomas.

Happy reading!

Marin

The Surgeon’s

Christmas Baby

Marin Thomas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MARIN THOMAS grew up in the Midwest, then attended college at the U of A in Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a BA in radio-TV and played basketball for the Lady Wildcats. Following graduation she married her college sweetheart in the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recently empty nesters, Marin and her husband now live in Texas, where cattle is king, cowboys are plentiful and pickups rule the road. Visit her on the web at marinthomas.com.

To my great-niece Adley Faith:

You are braver than you believe,

stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think.

Follow your dreams and never look back.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Quit lookin’ at me like that.”

Darn Luke’s ornery hide. Hannah Buck squeezed the steering wheel, wishing it was her half brother’s neck.

Yesterday after lunch Luke had left the ranch to attend a Halloween party with friends. He’d promised to be home by dark, but ten o’clock had come and gone and Hannah had paced the kitchen floor, imagining him lying dead in a ditch somewhere—just as she’d found their father two years ago.

“You could have texted me that you were staying the night at Connor’s.”

“I left my cell phone at home.”

On purpose. When their father died, the court had appointed Hannah Luke’s legal guardian—a job she’d gladly accepted. But she hadn’t counted on her then fourteen-year-old brother embarking on a mission to make her life miserable.

The recent skipping school, drinking and smoking pot had to stop. She’d attributed Luke’s rebellion to grief and in the beginning hadn’t demanded too much of him. Even his teachers had gone easy on him. But two years had passed since their father’s death and Luke’s behavior was getting out of hand. If he didn’t settle down and quit running wild, he’d end up in jail, and then she wouldn’t be able to save his butt.

“I can’t do this anymore, Luke.”

“Do what?”

That he had to ask showed how little he cared about the responsibility resting on her shoulders. “I can’t take care of the ranch and chase after you. It’s time for you to grow up.”

“Jeez...not another lecture.” He sprawled across the backseat. “You didn’t have to come get me. I could have driven home.”

If Connor’s mother hadn’t informed Hannah that she and her husband were leaving town, Luke would have remained at his friend’s the entire day and skipped out on doing his chores. She glanced in the rearview mirror. Her brother had turned sixteen five months ago, but his smooth skin and pudgy cheeks reminded her of the little boy who’d followed her everywhere on the ranch. Hannah had been the only one who’d paid attention to him when their father was lost in the bottle or Luke’s mother, Ruth, left on one of her weekend getaways.

Hannah and Luke had grown even closer after Ruth died in a car accident right before Luke’s tenth birthday. She recalled the afternoon her father broke the news to them—Luke hadn’t shed a tear. Instead, he’d asked Hannah to play a video game with him. She hadn’t been surprised that her brother had turned to her, since Ruth had assigned all the mothering duties to ten-year-old Hannah when she’d brought Luke home from the hospital.

To be honest, she hadn’t been distraught over Ruth’s death, either. It was hard to shed a tear for the woman who’d caused her parents’ divorce. Hannah hadn’t heard from her mother—not even a birthday card—since the day she’d walked out on her family. Hannah wished she could blame Ruth for her mother abandoning her but that wouldn’t be fair. The sad truth was that all the adults in her and Luke’s life had let them down.

After their father’s funeral Hannah had discovered how badly he’d mismanaged the ranch. Instead of spending time with Luke, she’d spent days poring over financial records with an accountant at the bank. He’d set up a payment plan with her creditors and she’d been forced to let their ranch hand go. Keeping the business from going under had fallen on her shoulders, but she’d accepted the responsibility, hoping Luke would help out, but like a typical teenager all he cared about was hanging with his friends.

“How am I supposed to get my car?” he asked.

“We’ll pick it up tomorrow.” As far as Hannah was concerned, her old Civic could sit on the Henderson property a good long while. Without wheels Luke would be stuck at home and maybe out of sheer boredom he’d do his chores. “How much did you and Connor drink last night?”

“Enough.”

She still hadn’t broken the news to her brother that she’d been asked to keep him away from Connor. Mrs. Henderson believed Luke was a bad influence on her son. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

She couldn’t remember a time her father hadn’t reached for a beer when he walked into the house—morning, noon or night. He’d kept his drinking under control until Ruth died. Hannah wasn’t sure if her father’s depression had been caused by Ruth’s death or learning the girlfriend in the car with her at the time of the accident had been a man named Stan Smith.

“You can’t keep this up, Luke.” When he remained silent, she said, “You know Dad was an alcoholic. You carry the gene.” If worrying about her brother’s drinking wasn’t enough stress, yesterday afternoon she’d discovered an acre of fence had been torn down and several of their bison had wandered onto the neighbor’s property. Roger Markham hadn’t been pleased when he’d had to send his ranch hands to round up her livestock.

She’d reported the vandalism to Sheriff Miller, who’d attributed it to a Halloween prank by local kids. He’d promised to notify his deputies to be on the lookout for any troublemakers in the Paradise area. Then he’d suggested that until they caught the culprits, Hannah should take Luke with her when she checked the herd—as if that was going to happen.

“Not that you care, but some jerk trampled a section of fence and the bison wandered onto the Los Pinos Ranch.” Hannah had insurance to cover the cost of repairing the fence, but the deductible was a thousand dollars. There went her Christmas fund.

“Who gives a crap about those stupid animals?” The truck hit a bump and he groaned. “Watch your driving.”

She was tempted to slam on the brakes, put the truck into Reverse and drive back and forth over the pothole until Luke puked. “When we get home, I need you to load the hay bales onto the flatbed.”

“I’m too tired.”

If she gripped the wheel any tighter, she’d rip it from the steering column. Hannah had planned to go to college after she’d graduated from high school, but then Ruth had died and her father had sunk into a deep depression and she’d ended up staying put. Even so, she’d never regret spending those last few years with her father. Helping him run the ranch had given her a deeper appreciation for rural life, and now she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Eventually she was confident Luke’s view of the ranch would change, too, and he’d see the value of his inheritance. Right now, she had to worry about weathering this latest storm with him.

“You know that Dad probably wouldn’t have died that night if he hadn’t been—”

“Drinking. I know.”

Hannah didn’t like bringing up their father’s death, but she never wanted Luke to forget. He needed the reminder, especially now when he was experimenting with alcohol and drugs. She didn’t want him to make stupid decisions that would put his life in danger—like going for a horseback ride after drinking a twelve-pack of beer.

Joe Buck hadn’t ridden far when he’d lost his balance and had fallen off Buster, cracking his head open. By the time Hannah had noticed the horse wandering aimlessly in the ranch yard, it had been too late. She’d found her father’s lifeless body in a ravine behind the house, his hand clutching a beer can.

“You can take a nap after you load the hay,” she said. The herd should have been fed this morning, but she’d wasted the past two hours fetching Luke.

“You’re not my mom. You can’t tell me what to do.”

The jab hurt. She’d been more of a mother to Luke than Ruth ever had. Hannah had been the one to make her brother’s breakfast before school. Not Ruth. Hannah had done the family’s laundry and made sure Luke’s Little League uniform had been ready to wear on Saturday morning. Not Ruth. And when Luke had taken Melissa Walter to the school dance this past spring, Hannah had been the one to purchase a box of condoms and give Luke a safe sex lecture. Not Ruth.

“You’ve been running wild since Dad died and it’s got to stop. If you’d help out more, we could expand the herd.” And I could keep an eye on you. The thought of something terrible happening to Luke terrified Hannah. They might be at odds right now but he was all the family she had left, and she loved her brother.

“Bison suck.”

“They’re keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table.”

“Connor said his father thinks Dad was stupid to buy bison instead of cattle.”

Hannah was well aware that their neighbors believed raising bison for specialty meat markets was a waste of good land. “I don’t care what Mr. Henderson thinks.”

“School’s dumb. I wanna drop out.”

It took a moment for Hannah’s mind to switch gears. “What do you mean you want to quit school?” At least from six-thirty in the morning until three-thirty in the afternoon, Monday through Friday she knew where her brother was.

“I’m not learning anything.”

“You’re staying in school, Luke.”

“Just ’cause you’re my legal guardian doesn’t mean I have to listen to you.”

Hannah laughed. “Oh, yes, it does. You’re not dropping out. End of discussion.”

“You can’t stop me.” Luke was three inches taller and fifty pounds heavier than Hannah. If he didn’t want to go to school, there wouldn’t be much she could do to make him go.

She opened her mouth to challenge him, then decided no good could come from arguing her point when he was hungover. Hannah had taken care of others most of her life and at times like this she dreamed of only being responsible for herself.

“I bet Connor’s mother would let me live with them.”

Not on your life. “Mrs. Henderson doesn’t even want you hanging out with Connor anymore.”

“Liar.”

“You can ask her yourself.”

“Why would she say that?”

“Maybe because she caught you two drinking and she thinks you’re a bad influence on her son.”

Luke laughed, then moaned and pressed his hands to his head. “Connor drank before we started doing stuff together.”

“Did Connor talk you into drinking?”

“No. Ben Nichols and I got slammed last year.”

“Is Ben the one who gave you the pot?”

“Yeah.”

She’d found Luke smoking in the hayloft over Christmas break and had flipped out. He’d been so stoned he was lucky he hadn’t started a fire in the barn.

“Maybe you should smoke pot, then guys might like you better.” Luke could be downright ugly toward her when he wanted to be. “I bet if you weren’t such a nag, Seth wouldn’t have dumped you.”

Hannah gaped at her brother in the rearview mirror. “For your information, I broke up with him.”

Seth Markham had caught Hannah at a weak moment when he’d proposed to her following her father’s funeral. She’d been in a state of panic after learning about the financial mess the ranch was in. When Seth had promised he and his father would pay off the Blue Bison’s debts, she’d decided that marrying him was the only sensible thing to do if she didn’t want to lose her and Luke’s inheritance.

Seth had pressed her to wed right away but Hannah had needed time to grieve. Three months passed, and when she still hadn’t set a date, Seth became angry and they’d argued. He’d almost convinced her to go to the courthouse that day before he’d let it slip that he and his father had planned to sell her bison and expand their cattle herd. Hannah had promptly returned his ring.

“Watch it!”

Startled out of her trance, Hannah realized the truck had drifted onto the shoulder and was headed straight toward a hitchhiker. She slammed on the brakes, then swerved back into her lane—right into the path of a shiny metal object lying on the asphalt. The rear tire blew and the truck fishtailed off the road and down an embankment, where it stopped inches from a barbed wire fence.

“Luke, are you all right?” She craned her neck over the backseat.

Her brother crawled up from the floor. “Shit, Hannah. You could have killed us. Didn’t you see that guy?”

She looked out the passenger window. The hitchhiker had dropped his duffel bag on the ground and was jogging toward them. He wore military fatigues and a white T-shirt that showed off his powerful arms and an impressive chest. He had short, dark hair, thick beard stubble covered his face and aviator sunglasses hid his eyes. No wonder he hadn’t jumped out of the way—he’d been wearing earbuds.

Luke opened the back door and got out of the truck.

“Everyone okay?” the man asked when he reached them. He took off his shades and ran his gaze over Luke.

“We’re good,” Luke said.

Hannah joined Luke and said, “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to my driving. I didn’t hit you, did I?”

“Not by a long shot. How about you?”

His eyes were a hypnotizing shade of caramel brown. “How about me what?”

“Did you get hurt?” His sexy mouth spread into a grin.

She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

He examined the rear wheel. “You’ve got a flat tire.”

Hannah peered over his shoulder. She’d been driving on bald tires for months. It had only been a matter of time before one of them blew.

“If you have a spare, I’ll put it on.”

Where were her manners? When he stood, she held out her hand. “Hannah Buck.” His warm grasp was the nicest thing she’d touched all morning.

“Alonso Marquez.”

“This is my brother, Luke,” she said.

The males shook hands and Hannah noticed Alonso was only an inch or two taller than Luke’s five-ten.

“I have a spare,” she said. “Luke, grab the wrench and jack from the toolbox.”

Her brother climbed into the truck bed and rummaged through the steel storage compartment, then handed the tools to Alonso.

Hannah closed her eyes and rubbed her brow, where a dull throb beat against her skull. The headache had begun right after she’d picked up Luke from Connor’s.

“Hey,” a deep voice whispered near her ear, and she jumped. “It’s okay.” Alonso smiled. “No one got hurt.”

Tears stung her eyes at the note of concern in the stranger’s voice. When was the last time anyone had been worried about her?

True to his word, Alonso put the spare tire on in record time.

“Thank you,” she said. “And I’m really sorry I almost ran over you.”

“Be careful.” He saluted her before walking back to retrieve his bag.

“Aren’t you going to give him a ride?” Luke asked.

“We don’t know anything about him,” she said.

“Who cares? He helped us, didn’t he?”

True, but what if Alonso turned out to be a serial killer or robbed them at gunpoint after she dropped him off farther down the road? Still...this was a lonely stretch of Highway 8 and the town of Paradise was fifteen miles away.

“Hey, mister, you want a ride?” Luke shouted.

Alonso waved Luke off, then put in his earbuds, threw his bag over his shoulder and started walking.

Luke jogged toward Alonso—funny how his hangover prevented him from doing chores but not racing after strangers. Alonso listened to Luke for a minute, then the two walked back to the truck.

“I told him that you were worried he might kill us.” Luke nudged Alonso’s arm. “Tell her what you said.”

Alonso flashed his white teeth. “I don’t kill. I save lives.”

“He’s a doctor, Hannah.”

“Trauma surgeon,” Alonso said.

Luke nodded to the man’s fatigues. “And he was an Army doctor in Afghanistan.”

Hannah would never have guessed the sexy, masculine man was a surgeon. “Why are you hitchhiking?”

“I took a personal leave from the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.” He looked at Luke. “Kid, I appreciate the thought, but your sister’s uncomfortable giving me a lift.”

Luke jutted his chin. “This truck belonged to our dad, so it’s half mine and I say you can have a ride.”

Alonso glanced between sister and brother. He didn’t care to get involved in their squabble. The teen leaned in close and Alonso caught a whiff of stale alcohol on his breath. “You can ride up front,” Luke said.

“Aren’t you a little young to be drinking?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“Last I heard the drinking age around these parts was twenty-one.”

“No one pays attention to that law.”

Touché. Alonso had drunk as a teen—not often—but he’d slammed back a few beers once in a while so the homies in the ’hood wouldn’t make fun of him. It had been tough enough that the kids had picked on him for getting good grades. If not for his little sister Lea’s asthma attacks, forcing Alonso to skip school to care for her while their mother worked, he’d have been a regular Goody Two-shoes. And Goody Two-shoes never made it out of the barrio.

“Stay out of trouble, kid.” Alonso left the siblings by their truck and started down the road. He’d walked less than a minute before Hannah pulled up next to him and lowered the passenger-side window. He took out his earbuds but kept walking.

“Where are you headed?” she asked.

“Nowhere in particular.” He’d had no plan in mind when he’d left his job—just that he hoped lots of fresh air and escaping the city would restore his faith in humanity. His coworkers thought he’d lost his mind when he’d confessed that he needed a break from the blood and gore. Their disbelief hadn’t surprised him. ER doctors and nurses were adrenaline junkies who thrived on chaos. But Alonso’s past was catching up to him. He’d grown up in a rough neighborhood, watching bad things happen to good people. His time in Afghanistan was more of the same—good soldiers losing their lives at the hands of the people they were trying to help. Then he’d returned to the States, where he tried to save more lives—kids shot by kids. Women who were beaten by their boyfriends or husbands. Drug overdoses and innocent men, women and children injured by intoxicated drivers. He’d become weary of all the death and destruction and had needed to escape it for a while.

Luke poked his head out the window. “You can stay at our ranch if you want.”

“Luke!” Obviously Hannah didn’t want Alonso anywhere near her or her brother. Smart girl.

“I’m good, thanks.” He read the indecision in Hannah’s pretty blue eyes and he let his gaze linger on her.

At first glance she came off plain looking, but upon closer inspection he noticed her eyes darkened to indigo when they shone with worry. Her mouth was a little wide and he imagined what it would feel like to kiss her full lips. Damn. He’d just met Hannah and already he was thinking of having sex with her. She was smart to be wary of him.

“Luke’s right. You deserve a lift after I almost ran you down, and then made you change a flat tire.”

“Thanks.” The word was out of his mouth before he could stop it—blame it on her baby blues. Once he got situated in the truck bed, the half window in the backseat opened.

“You can sit up front with my sister.”

“I’m fine right here.” Alonso put in his earbuds but didn’t turn on the music. He shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he was curious about the siblings.

Hannah guided the pickup onto the road and Alonso closed his eyes against the cool breeze. When he’d begun his journey five days ago the high had been seventy-three. He’d headed southeast and had walked twelve hours a day, covering almost thirty-five miles per day. Each twenty-four-hour period that passed, the temperature had dropped. He guessed the first day in November hovered near sixty-five degrees.

“Why are you so mean?” Luke’s accusation drifted through the open window.

“What are you talking about?” Hannah asked.

“Making Alonso sit in the truck bed because you think he’s some psycho.”

Alonso thought Hannah should be suspicious of him. Not only didn’t she know much about him, but he carried a handgun in his duffel bag.

“Leave it be, Luke. I don’t want to argue with you.”

Luke tapped his shoulder. “Alonso.”

“What?”

“You ever rodeo?”

“No, but I’ve ridden a bucking bronc before.” In high school he and his friends, Cruz Rivera and Victor Vicario, had spent time at the Gateway Ranch, where several cowboys had taught them how to bust broncs. It took only a few short seconds in the saddle for Alonso to figure out rodeo wasn’t his sport. He’d spent the remainder of his stay at the ranch taking care of the livestock.

“I want to learn how to ride broncs,” Luke said.

“Bronc riding can be tricky.”

“But rodeo is so cool.”

Alonso sensed a wild streak in the teen—no wonder his sister appeared stressed out. “Some high schools have rodeo teams.”

“School sucks.” Luke lowered his voice. “I’m gonna drop out.”

“I doubt your parents would approve of you quitting school.”

“My mom and dad are dead.” That Luke said it so matter-of-factly left Alonso speechless.

The truck slowed, then turned onto a dirt road and drove beneath a wooden arch with the words Blue Bison Ranch painted in white across it. He should remind Hannah to stop and let him out, but the words never came.

She drove a quarter mile before he saw a house, barn and corral. The place could use a little TLC. The adobe-style home needed a fresh coat of beige paint, and the red barn had faded to pink and was missing a few boards. A flatbed trailer half-loaded with hay bales sat beneath the open barn loft. No ranch hand appeared to greet them—maybe the hired help was out with the cattle.

Hannah parked in front of the barn and as soon as she and her brother opened their doors, they started in on each other.

“Finish loading the hay, Luke.”

“You load it. I’m going to bed.”

Hannah grabbed Luke’s shirtsleeve. “If you think you’re old enough to stay up all night drinking, then you can do a man’s work the next day.”

“I’m sick of you bossing me around. Go to hell.” Luke stormed into the house.

Alonso waited for Hannah’s next move, then his chest tightened when she dabbed her eyes with her fingertips. He couldn’t stand to see her cry.

“I’ll load the hay.” He hopped out of the truck bed.

She slapped a hand against her heart and stared at him wide-eyed—yep, she’d forgotten about him. A first for Alonso. He was quiet by nature but a decent-looking man, according to the ER nurses, who repeatedly reminded him of their single status.

“I was supposed to let you off by the road.”

“Not a big deal. It isn’t that far of a walk.” He nodded to the trailer. “Loading hay bales is the least I can do to thank you for the lift.”

After a second’s hesitation she said, “I need twenty-five more.”

“Twenty-five bales it is.” He waited for Hannah to enter the house, then went into the barn and climbed the ladder to the loft. As he dropped the bales to the ground below, he wondered if the siblings fought like this every day.

Did it matter? As soon as he finished the chore, he’d hit the road again.

Chapter Two

Hannah stood at her bedroom window and watched hay bales sail out of the barn loft. She was grateful that Alonso had offered to help and embarrassed that he’d witnessed the drama between her and Luke.

True to his word, her brother had crawled into bed as soon as he’d gone into the house. Luke was a spoiled brat and she accepted much of the blame for his self-centeredness. She’d always felt sorry for him, because Ruth had neglected him. Then, when Luke was old enough to do guy things with their father, Joe had chosen to spend his free time with a can of beer rather than his son. So Hannah had babied Luke and now she was paying the price.

The tears she’d held back all day dripped down her cheeks. She wiped the moisture away, assuming her weepiness was the result of exhaustion and worry. She returned downstairs, grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and, ignoring the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, she went out to the barn. Halfway there she froze when she caught a glimpse of Alonso’s bare chest. He’d taken his shirt off and his skin glistened with sweat, the muscles rippling when he heaved a bale over his head. The sight of all that masculinity set off an explosion of feminine twinges—erotic little aches that she hadn’t experienced in a long, long while.

He disappeared from the hayloft window, then a moment later walked out of the barn, his T-shirt hanging from his jeans pocket. “Almost done.” He began picking the bales up off the ground and placing them on the flatbed. The words US Army were tattooed above an image of eagle wings and a snake coiled around a rod. He hadn’t lied about being a military doctor.

She held out the water bottle.

“Thanks.” He guzzled the drink, then sucked in a deep breath.

It was none of her business, but she asked, “How long were you in the Army?”

“I did one tour in Afghanistan before I returned to civilian life.”

“Are you originally from New Mexico?”

“Born and raised in Albuquerque.” He lifted the bottom of his T-shirt and wiped the sweat off his face. “What about you?”

“Born and raised in Paradise.” Four generations of Bucks had lived on the ranch outside the small town—population just a little over two thousand. “My great-grandfather bought this land.” But it was Hannah’s grandfather who had made most of the improvements—digging the water wells and starting up a bison herd. Sadly her father had run it into the ground.

“Anything else I can help with before I take off?”

“No.” She motioned to the flatbed. “You’ve done plenty, thanks.”

His eyes shifted to the house. “Is your brother okay?”

She refused to make excuses for Luke. “He’s sleeping off his hangover.”

“Does he drink often?”

Was Alonso asking as a doctor or just a guy she’d picked up hitchhiking? “He sneaked a can of beer once in a while before our father died. But last night he got caught binge drinking with a friend.”

She waited for Alonso to lecture her on the evils of alcohol consumption, which sadly she was all too familiar with. Instead, he said, “Pull your truck over here and I’ll hook it up to the trailer, then you drive and I’ll cut the bales and drop them where you tell me to.”

She wanted to refuse his help but swallowed her pride. Once Alonso hitched the trailer to the pickup, he walked up to the driver’s-side window. “Blow the horn when you want me to toss a bale.”

She handed him the wire cutters and work gloves she kept in the truck. After he climbed onto the trailer, she drove off, slowing down when she left the dirt road and entered the pasture. She honked every ten yards. Halfway through her route the bison came over a ridge. After Alonso threw the last bale onto the ground she put the truck into Park and got out.

He hopped off the trailer. “I’ve never seen bison up close. They’re pretty impressive animals.”

“My great-grandfather raised cattle. It was my grandfather who switched to bison after he lost an entire herd to disease.” She smiled. “Have you ever eaten bison meat?”

“Nope.”

“We sell our bison to gourmet food markets, but once in a while a dude ranch will ask to buy one of the animals to keep as a pet. Tourists get a kick out of seeing them.”

“How many do you have?”

“My grandfather kept a herd of three hundred then my father decreased it to two hundred, and right now I have a hundred and fifty.” She’d had to sell thirty head to cover the back taxes. Once the ranch was in better financial shape, she intended to grow the herd again.

“Ready when you are.” He got in on the passenger side and the musky scent of male sweat and faded cologne filled the cab. She turned the truck around and drove back through the pasture. “I would have been doing this in the dark tonight if you hadn’t offered to help.”

“You don’t have any ranch hands working for you?”

“I can’t afford to pay one. If Luke would stay out of trouble and do his share of the chores, we’d manage fine.”

“Luke mentioned both your parents are gone.”

Gone sounded temporary, not permanent like dead. Maybe that was how soldiers viewed fatalities in the Army. His comrades never died—they were just gone. “Our father passed away in a horseback-riding accident and Luke’s mother died in a car crash.”

“Must be rough, handling all this on your own.”

“It’s been challenging.” She parked next to the barn. “You should stay for supper.” Hannah decided it would be best if she and Luke had a buffer between them for a while—otherwise they might say something they’d regret. “There’s a cot in the storage room in the barn. You can sleep in there tonight, then leave in the morning.”

Luke would love it if Alonso hung around and did the rest of his chores for him. But that wasn’t why Hannah had extended the invite. She hadn’t been involved with anyone since Seth, and Alonso reminded her of how lonely she was for male attention.

“I could use a good night’s sleep and a warm meal.”

She opened her mouth to ask where he was headed then changed her mind. Come morning Alonso would gone.

* * *

“MY SISTER SAID you’re staying the night.”

“I’ll head out in the morning at first light.”

“You don’t have to clean the horse stalls.”

“Someone has to do it.” Alonso tossed a clump of soiled hay toward the wheelbarrow.

Luke climbed the ladder to the loft and sat, legs dangling above Alonso’s head. Obviously the kid would rather watch than help. No wonder Hannah was miffed at her brother.

“Where will you go when you leave here?” Luke asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t have any place in mind.” He pointed to the wheelbarrow. “Lend me a hand, will you?”

“And do what?”

Alonso set the pitchfork aside and dragged a hay bale over to a stall, then dropped the wire cutters on top of it. “Spread clean hay in the stalls I’ve already cleaned.”

Luke took his time climbing down from the loft. “A marine recruiter came to our school at the beginning of the year,” he said, tugging on a pair of work gloves. “He made his job sound like fun. Is it?”

“I wouldn’t use the word fun to describe my experience.”

“Where were you stationed?”

“I spent a month at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, before shipping out to Afghanistan.”

“Did any of your friends get killed in Afghanistan?”

Man, the kid was nosy. The doctors and nurses at the hospital tiptoed around the subject and pretended he’d spent time on an exotic island, not in a war-ravaged country. “Three of my friends were killed over there.”

And the hell of it was Alonso had just saved their lives after a roadside bomb had taken out their Humvee. No one expected them to get blown to pieces in the recovery room when an Afghan medic-in-training detonated a bomb strapped to his chest.

“I thought the war was over.”

“It is, but there are still crazies running loose in the country.” Alonso didn’t want to talk about his military experience. “You almost done with that stall?”

“Yeah.”

“Grab another bale and finish this one.”

Luke did as he was told. “You got a girlfriend?”

“Don’t have time for one.” That was what he told his coworkers, but after everything he’d been through, he decided nothing good lasts, so it made no sense wasting his energy on a serious relationship.

“Don’t you like girls?”

“I like girls fine.” He chuckled. “You always so nosy?”

“I guess. It’s just that this place is boring.”

“What do you do to keep busy?”

“Not much. My sister doesn’t like my friends.”

Alonso’s mother hadn’t approved of his school friends but she hadn’t understood that a brainiac kid didn’t stand a chance in hell of surviving in the barrio if he didn’t have buddies to defend him. Alonso’s best friends had made sure he hadn’t been picked on or targeted by gangs.

In the end it had been Cruz’s rebellious behavior that had got all three kicked out of school and enrolled in a special program to earn their GED. To this day Alonso believed he’d never have become a doctor if he hadn’t had the support of their teacher, Maria Alvarez—now Fitzgerald. Things had worked out for him and Vic. Not so much for Cruz—he’d landed in jail. “Maybe you should make new friends.”

Luke ignored Alonso’s suggestion and asked, “If you’re a doctor, why are you hitchhiking? Don’t you have a car?”

“I have a pickup back at my apartment in Albuquerque.” He pushed the wheelbarrow past Luke. “I guess I didn’t feel like driving.”

“You’re crazy.”

Luke wasn’t the only one who thought Alonso was an idiot. When he’d told his coworkers he’d needed a break from the ER they hadn’t expected him to hitchhike across New Mexico. “Exercise is good for the brain.”

“Then, run on a treadmill.”

Running in place didn’t work. After Alonso left Afghanistan and returned to the States, he’d believed he’d put all the death and destruction behind him. But more of the same had awaited him in the hospital. “You have any hobbies, kid?”

“My dad taught me how to use a shotgun. I like shooting at targets.”

Alonso caught Luke staring into space. “It’s tough losing both parents.”

“It’s not that hard. My dad was a drunk.”

Alonso had only just met the teen but he felt a special kinship with Luke. Alonso’s father had taken off before he’d entered kindergarten, and he wasn’t even sure if his old man was still alive. Once in a while he wondered what his life would have been like if his father had stuck around.

Luke leaned against the side of the stall. “What about you? What did you do with your dad?”

“My father wasn’t involved in my life.”

“Did you do stuff with your mom?”

“Not really. My mom worked two jobs. It was mostly just me and my sisters.”

“Did you guys fight all the time?”

“No.”

Luke laughed. “Yeah, right. You were best friends.”

“There were times when my sisters drove me nuts and I wanted to pick fights with them, but I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“One of them has asthma and if she gets upset she can’t breathe.” Alonso lost count of the times he or his mother had dialed 911 when Lea had trouble breathing. If they’d had health insurance his sister might have gotten the medicine and inhalers she’d needed to stay healthy, but too often her prescriptions went unfilled because there wasn’t any money to pay for them.

“That must have sucked,” Luke said.

What had sucked was being forced to stay home from school and take care of Lea, because his mother couldn’t miss work. After a while the school refused to excuse his absences and had expelled him.

“How old is your sister?” Alonso asked.

“Twenty-six. She thinks she can tell me what to do all the time.”

“Are you talking about me?”

Alonso glanced over his shoulder, surprised Hannah had sneaked up on them. He hadn’t heard her footsteps on the gravel drive.

“It’s true,” Luke said. “You bully me all the time.”

“Hey, I’m your guardian. I have to ride herd on you, or you’ll end up in a heap of trouble one day.”

Hoping to prevent an argument, Alonso said, “We’re finished with the stalls. What other chores need to be done?”

“Can you drive a tractor?” she asked.

Luke rolled his eyes. “She wants you to cut the hay.”

“If it doesn’t get cut soon, the cooler night temperatures will cause mold to grow and ruin the crop.”

“I can handle a tractor,” Alonso said. He’d had the opportunity to drive different military vehicles while stationed in Afghanistan—how hard could a tractor be?

“We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left. Enough time to cut half the field.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll hook the side rake up to the tractor. I can follow you in the baler.” She glanced at her brother. “I need you to stack the bales as they exit the baler.”

“Whatever.” Luke marched off.

“I can put up with your gnarly attitude any day as long as you’re willing to help.” Hannah followed her brother out of the barn. Fifteen minutes later, the three of them stood in the driveway next to the equipment.

“I’ll ride with Alonso in the tractor,” Hannah said. “Luke, you drive the baler out to the field. After I show Alonso which direction to cut the hay, I’ll take over driving the baler while Luke stacks the hay.”

An hour later, Alonso was making his third turn around the perimeter of the field. Hannah followed at a distance, Luke stacking the square bales in neat sections on the flatbed.

The work was monotonous but peaceful. Out here he didn’t have to worry about someone blowing himself up or a young gangbanger staggering into the ER with a bullet in his chest. Alonso checked the side mirrors and saw Luke signaling him. When the baler caught up, Hannah got out from behind the wheel and approached the tractor.

“We’re losing daylight, so we’ll stop here. Thanks again for helping us out this afternoon.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“You’re telling the truth, aren’t you?”

“Why would I lie?”

Hannah shouted over her shoulder, “Hey, Luke! Alonso likes driving the tractor.”

“He’s crazy!”

She smiled. “Oh, well, it was worth a shot.”

Alonso’s breath caught in his throat. This was the first time Hannah’s eyes sparkled, and he caught himself returning her smile.

“We’ll leave the baler out here and take the tractor to the house. Let’s head home and eat.” Hannah drove while Luke and Alonso crowded in beside her.

“You don’t really like cutting hay,” Luke said.

“Sure I do.”

“I bet it’s not as exciting as being in the military.”

“Depends on your definition of excitement.” Alonso despised movies that glorified war and made superheroes out of men and women who were ordinary people marching off to work each day. “But I get where all this might become a little boring if you grew up with it.”

Luke poked Hannah’s shoulder. “My sister loves working seven days a week all year long. But I don’t want to be a rancher.”

Hannah kept her eyes on the path. The rigid set of her shoulders told Alonso that she’d had this conversation before with her brother.

Alonso sympathized with the teen. He doubted Luke had had much excitement in his life. His parents were no longer alive and his sister was all work and no play.

Hannah parked the tractor by the barn. “We’re having leftovers for supper.”

“Your chili’s gross.” Luke stuck his finger in his mouth and made a gagging noise. “My sister’s cooking sucks.”

“If you don’t like the chili, then make your own meal.”

“Why don’t I take everyone out to eat?” Alonso said. There had to be a fast-food restaurant within ten miles of the ranch.

“You’re not buying us dinner,” Hannah said.

“I don’t care what you guys do. I’m microwaving a frozen pizza.” Luke hopped down from the tractor.

“Do you like your chili over rice or plain?” she asked Alonso.

“I’d rather take you out to eat. Save the chili for tomorrow.”

Hannah fought a smile. “Luke’s being a stinker. My cooking isn’t that bad.”

Alonso laughed. “Let me take you out.”

“There’s a restaurant down the road with a great view.”

“That works for me.”

“You’re welcome to use the shower in the house.” She walked off and it took a whole lot more effort than it should have to pull his gaze from her swaying hips. It was a toss-up as to whether he was more excited about getting clean or sharing dinner with a pretty girl.

Chapter Three

This isn’t a date.

No matter how many times the voice in her head repeated the sentence Hannah couldn’t stop feeling a little bit excited about going out to dinner with Alonso. She hadn’t been on a date since she’d returned Seth’s engagement ring two years ago. She’d been so busy with the ranch and chasing after Luke that she hadn’t had the time or the energy to care about her love life.

Sadly, she’d enjoyed the three short months she’d been engaged to Seth—before she’d discovered his motive for marrying her. Seth had been her first serious relationship and he’d spoiled her. He’d taken her dancing, to the movies and brought her flowers for no reason, and she’d soaked up the attention. For a brief while she’d believed she’d found the perfect partner to go through life with. But it hadn’t been real for Seth. He’d led her on and had made a fool of her. The experience had left a bitter taste in her mouth and Hannah wasn’t eager to rush into another relationship. But there was nothing wrong with enjoying an evening with a good-looking man.

It’s not smart to go off alone with a man you barely know.

Gut instinct said Alonso was harmless. He was a surgeon—surgeons healed people; they didn’t hurt them. Besides, she could take care of herself.

She ran a brush through her long hair, then divided the strands into three sections and braided it. After buttoning her Western blouse and pulling on a pair of fresh jeans, she slipped her feet into cowboy boots, then spritzed perfume on her neck and studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked nice but not desperate. Good.

When she entered the kitchen, Luke was eating pizza at the table. “I want to get my car from Connor’s.”

She thought of reminding her brother that the car belonged to her and she only let him borrow it, but she didn’t want to start another fight. “I’ll drive you out there tomorrow.”

“Can I do something later if I can get a friend to pick me up?”

“No.” Was he crazy? “I want you to stay in and go to bed early.” He needed a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow they had to finish cutting the hay and repair the broken fence.

“Where are you and Alonso going to eat?”

“I’m taking him to the Red Bluff Diner.” That Luke gave up arguing with her over going out with his friends was odd, but maybe he was more exhausted than he let on. “Keep your phone handy in case I need to get hold of you.”

The creak of the bathroom door drifted down the hallway, then a moment later Alonso entered the kitchen, wearing clean jeans and cowboy boots—not the hiking boots he’d had on earlier. His tight black T-shirt showed off his muscular chest, and a hint of his tattoo peeked below the hem of his sleeve. And the beard was gone. Now he looked more like a medical doctor—the ones you saw in TV shows and movies. The only real-life doctor she knew was seventy-four-year-old Doc Snyder, who ran the clinic in town.

Hannah took the pen and notepad she kept on the counter and handed it to Alonso. “Would you mind writing down your cell phone number in case we have an emergency?” She ignored Luke’s snort.

“Sure.” He did as she asked, then he removed his wallet from his back pocket. “Keep this business card.” He handed it to Hannah.

Juan Alarez Ranch For Boys.

Alonso grinned at Luke. “If we don’t come back, call that number. Riley Fitzgerald’s been a friend of mine for a long time.”

“I told you my sister thinks you’re a serial killer,” Luke said.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “If you two are finished making fun of me, then—”

Alonso’s cell phone rang and he checked the number. “Speak of the devil... Will you excuse me a minute? I have to take this call.

“Hey, Riley.” Alonso retreated down the hallway and stopped by the front door.

“Didn’t I warn you about ignoring Maria’s phone calls?” Riley chuckled.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Apparently not too busy. Maria phoned the hospital and they said you’d taken a leave of absence. What’s going on?”

Alonso swallowed a groan. “Everything’s fine. I needed a break from the ER, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you visit the ranch? We could use an extra hand with the boys.”

“Thanks for the invite. I’ll think about it.” With all the bad in the world, Riley’s call reminded Alonso that there were a few good people left who gave a damn about helping the less fortunate.

“Don’t know if Maria told you or not, but we built a new medical clinic at the ranch.”

“Don’t tell me she’s putting Band-Aids on the kids in addition to teaching school.”

“Not anymore. We hired a full-time nurse. As a matter of fact, she’s married to Cruz.”

“Cruz is out—” Alonso glanced down the hallway, making sure he was alone “—of prison?”

“I would have mentioned it sooner, but I thought Cruz might want to be the one to tell you and Victor.”

He wasn’t surprised his friend hadn’t contacted him to let him know he’d been paroled. Alonso had visited Cruz in prison before he’d headed off to college. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t thought of Cruz often during the past twelve years—he’d been too wrapped up in his own life and struggles.

“Cruz and Sara married a month ago. He’s mentoring the boys and teaching them rodeo.”

“Sounds as if things are looking up for him.” Alonso wished his life was going as well.

“He’d love to see you.”

Alonso wasn’t so sure about that. He’d only heard about the night Cruz had been arrested, and he still felt guilty that he hadn’t gone along with him and Vic when they’d confronted the gang leader who’d been banging Vic’s sister. Maybe if he had been there, he could have done something to defuse the situation and Cruz wouldn’t have ended up in prison.

“What are you doing now?” Riley asked.

“Sightseeing.” That was the truth. Since leaving Albuquerque he’d seen a lot of rural sights.

“You sure everything’s all right?”

Riley had the uncanny ability to sense when Alonso or one of his friends was lying. “I’m fine.”

“If you say so. Be sure to give Maria a call soon.”

“I will. Tell her I said hello.”

“Will do. Keep in touch.”

Alonso disconnected the call, then returned to the kitchen. “See you later, Luke.” He held the door open for Hannah, then they walked to the pickup. “The days are warm but the nights are growing cooler,” he said.

“I wonder when we’ll get our first dusting of snow?”

That was the extent of their conversation until they reached the highway and curiosity got the best of Alonso. “You and Luke don’t have any other siblings or relatives to help with the ranch?”

“It’s just the two of us.”

“I have two sisters. Carla lives in Phoenix. She’s been divorced twice but doesn’t have any kids. Lea’s married with two boys. Recently my mother moved to Santa Fe to be closer to Lea and the grandkids.”

“And your father?”

“He took off when I was little.”

“Do you keep in touch with your sisters?”

“We talk every few months.” He’d phoned his sisters when he’d returned from Afghanistan but had passed up their invites to visit. He wasn’t ready to answer their questions about his time in the military.

Hannah slowed the truck when she passed a fifty-five-mile-per-hour speed sign. “Red Bluff Diner isn’t far from here.” The road forked and she drove west. “I recommend the bison steak fajitas.”

“What about regular beef?”

“They have that, too, but it’s not as tasty.” She smiled. “Try the bison.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Mind if I ask you a personal question?”

“Go ahead,” he said.

“What’s up with the hitchhiking? It’s not every day you come across a trauma surgeon thumbing his way through New Mexico.”

“I needed a break from all the chaos in the ER.” He winked when she looked at him. “They don’t call it trauma for nothing.”

“I thought all you military guys loved working under pressure. Taking a long walk can’t be near as exciting as saving lives.”

Saving lives only mattered if the people remained alive. “I like the fast-paced atmosphere of the ER, but the constant stress drains your energy.”

“How long do you plan to keep walking?”

“Don’t know yet.” Long enough to clear his head of all the bad memories stored in his brain.

She flashed a teasing smile. “You should have driven, then you’d see more of the countryside.”

“I saw enough countryside in Afghanistan to last me a lifetime.” Then he’d returned to the barrio in Albuquerque—another war zone, just different people and different reasons for killing each other. “What about you?” he said. “Did you always want to be a rancher?”

“I wanted to go to college, but things were crazy at home and someone had to be there for Luke.”

It occurred to Alonso that Hannah had been taking care of her brother most of her life. “What would you have studied if you’d gone to school?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe history.”

“Seriously?”

“Go ahead and laugh. I have no idea what kind of job I would have gotten with a history degree but I would have enjoyed taking all those classes.”

“I never pictured a woman being a rancher.”

“I never thought I’d be managing a ranch, either. But life throws you curveballs, and when I was forced to assume more and more responsibility, I grew attached to the land and the animals. And now I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

Hannah steered the pickup into a gravel lot and parked. The diner sat on the edge of a bluff overlooking a valley. Spotlights shone across the landscape, which was made up of broken mesas.

“Nice view,” he said.

“We’ll ask for a table with a view.”

When they entered the establishment, an older woman in Native American clothing greeted them. “Hello, Hannah.”

“Betsy.” Hannah nodded to her dinner date. “This is my friend Alonso. Betsy’s father owns the restaurant.”

“You’ve got a million-dollar view here,” he said.

“Follow me.” Betsy led the way to a table by the windows.

Alonso held out a chair for Hannah, then sat across from her. Betsy filled their water glasses and asked if they’d like to view the drink menu. Hannah ordered a glass of red wine and Alonso a beer. “It feels as if we’re sitting on the edge of a cliff.”

“Too bad it’s dark,” she said. “On a clear day you can see the Sandia Mountains from here.” When Betsy delivered their drinks, Hannah raised her wineglass. “To helpful strangers.”

He tapped the neck of his beer bottle against her glass. Hannah was the first person in longer than he remembered who he felt relaxed with—unlike his coworkers, who were high-strung and neurotic.

Hannah signaled Betsy over to their table. “Alonso has never eaten bison. I thought we’d try an appetizer first.”

“The nachos?” Betsy asked.

Hannah nodded. “I promise,” she said to Alonso. “These will be the best nachos you’ve ever eaten.”

Ten minutes later Betsy delivered the appetizer and Alonso experienced his first taste of bison. “This is good.”

“Told you so.” Hannah licked her fingertip and Alonso couldn’t tear his gaze from her mouth. Her lips spread in a smile.

“You’ve got a dreamy look on your face,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I’d like to—” kiss you “—order the bison burger.”

“That’s what I’m having.”

A surge of testosterone swept through Alonso’s bloodstream. He hadn’t experienced such sharp arousal since he couldn’t remember when. He’d gone on a few dates with nurses when he’d joined the hospital staff, but grew tired of always talking about the things that had happened on their shift—none of them had a life outside of the hospital.

“Did you like the nachos?” Betsy asked Alonso when she picked up the empty platter.

“They were fantastic,” he said.

“We’ll both have the bison burger,” Hannah said. “Make mine medium well, please.”

“The same for me.” Alonso handed Betsy his menu.

The burgers came out a few minutes later along with a special house-made barbecue sauce. After his first bite, he moaned. “I’ll never turn my nose up again when anyone mentions bison meat.”

Over dinner he and Hannah chatted about places they wanted to visit in the future. Favorite sports teams—Hannah was a big football fan and cheered for the Dallas Cowboys. They chatted about TV shows and movies—even the latest books they’d read. Not one time did the subject of gangs, murder, shootings or rape come up as it did when he socialized with the hospital staff. Hannah was a breath of fresh air.

“I’m glad you almost ran me over today.”

Her eyes rounded and he laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had such a charming dinner date.”

Pink color stained her cheeks. “I haven’t been out for supper in way too long.”

Over an hour later, Betsy delivered the check to their table. Alonso paid in cash and left a hefty tip. He didn’t want to return to the ranch and end the evening—not when he knew he had to leave in the morning. “Is there somewhere we could stop for a nightcap...maybe dance?” he asked when they left the restaurant.

“There’s a dive bar up the road.”

“Let’s go.” He held open the truck door for Hannah and they took off.

Dive was too nice a word to describe the doublewide Hannah parked in front of five minutes later. A pair of motorcycles and a 1995 Cadillac Eldorado sat outside Maloney’s.

“You sure this is a bar?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

Once they were inside, Alonso was pleasantly surprised. The owner had torn down the interior walls, creating a large open space. The bikers and an older man sat at the five-stool bar to the right of the door. The rest of the room was filled with mismatched tables and chairs. A jukebox sat in the corner and a sign above a door at the opposite end of the trailer advertised a unisex bathroom. Neon beer signs and No Smoking posters decorated the walls.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Rico only serves beer or whiskey,” she said. “I better stick to beer.”

Hannah walked off to pick out a place to sit. He paid for their drink order, then carried the beers to the table.

“Thanks.” She swallowed a large gulp before setting her bottle down. Her eyes darted around the room. Maybe she was nervous.

“When was the last time you went out for a drink?” He really wanted to know when she’d last been on a date.

“I can’t remember. Do you go out often?”

“Sometimes after a long shift, the staff will head over to a bar near the hospital.” He’d tagged along the first few times but after that he’d bowed out, preferring to unwind in his quiet apartment in front of the TV.

“Blue Eyes” came on the jukebox, and Alonso said, “Willie’s singing your song.” He took Hannah by the hand and led her to the dance floor, where he pulled her close. She smelled sweet and fit in his arms perfectly. When she leaned into him, his body hardened at the contact. He thought about putting a few more inches between them, but Hannah snuggled closer, her pelvis brushing against his hardness. He buried his nose in her hair, thinking he could hold her like this for hours—just the two of them with Willie singing in their ears.

“Well, well, well.”

Alonso stiffened and Hannah stepped away from him.

“What are you doing here, Seth?” she asked.

“I saw your pickup out front and thought you were drinking alone.” He nodded to Alonso. “Who’s this guy?”

“Alonso, this is my neighbor Seth Markham. He and his father own the Los Pinos Ranch.”

Seth squeezed Alonso’s hand. “I’m also Hannah’s ex-fiancé.”

Interesting that Hannah had left that tidbit of information out during their dinner conversation. “Nice to meet you.”

“What business brings you to Paradise?” Markham asked.

“Just passing through.” Alonso slid his arm around Hannah’s waist. Markham’s eyes narrowed—for a guy who no longer had a claim on Hannah, he acted jealous.

Alonso wasn’t in the business of provoking people but Markham rubbed him the wrong way. He moved his hand from Hannah’s waist to right beneath her breast and swallowed a chuckle when Markham’s face grew red.

“How long are you just passing through for?” Markham asked.

Alonso stared at Hannah. “Haven’t decided yet.”

“We were about to call it a night,” Hannah said.

Markham followed them out. “Where are you staying, Marquez?”

“At the ranch,” Hannah said, then took Alonso’s hand in hers and they walked across the parking lot.

“I’ll drive,” Alonso said. Hannah offered the keys after he helped her into the passenger seat. He slid behind the wheel and took off. When he glanced in the rearview mirror Markham was standing in the parking lot. “Your ex seemed surprised you were with another guy.”

“Seth thinks he can change my mind about marrying him.”

“You want to talk about it?”

She was embarrassed to admit how naive she’d been to believe Seth had really cared about her. Thank goodness he’d shown his true colors before they’d walked down the aisle.

“A week after I broke off our engagement, I saw Seth with another woman.” On the heels of her anger came hurt then relief. In the end she knew she was better off without him, but it stung that Seth had only been using her. “I was on my way to get Luke from school when I saw him walk out of Maloney’s with a redhead clinging to his arm. On the drive back through town I spotted his truck at a motel.” She shook her head. “I may be a simple country girl, but even I know the only reason you check into a motel at three o’clock in the afternoon is to have sex.”

“You’re better off without him.”

Hannah offered him a smile. “If your medical career doesn’t work out, you’d make a good cheerleader.”

Conversation ceased when Alonso turned onto the dirt road that led to the ranch. He parked by the house but made no move to get out of the truck. “If my staying tonight is going to cause problems for you...”

“By problems you mean gossip?”

“I don’t want people to think badly of you because you allowed a hitchhiker to spend the night on your property.”

“You’re not a hitchhiker. You’re a surgeon.” And a darn good-looking one at that. “I don’t care what anyone says about me.” Besides, her family had been the topic of gossip for years in Paradise. Alonso would give them something new to chat about.

She glanced at the dark house. “Luke must be in bed.” For once he’d taken her advice.

“Hangovers will do that to you.” Seconds ticked by, then Alonso reached across the seat and brushed a strand of loose hair from her face. She didn’t want the night to end. Didn’t want to leave his side.

“Alonso?”

“What?”

“Do you ever get lonely?” Until she’d sat across the table from him at the restaurant, Hannah hadn’t consciously acknowledged the depth of her loneliness.

“Yes.” His whispered answer made her heart pound.

This is crazy. You hardly know the man.

She couldn’t argue with the voice in her head, but the strength to resist a night in Alonso’s arms had fled the instant he’d pulled her close on the dance floor. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she whispered.

He slid his hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t want to be alone, either.”

And then he kissed her.

Chapter Four

Alonso squeezed Hannah’s hand as they walked away from the pickup. A barn wasn’t the most romantic place a guy could make love to a woman, but tonight wasn’t about romance. When Hannah had looked into his eyes on the dance floor at Maloney’s, he’d recognized the pleading glimmer in her gaze. He’d seen the same haunting look in patients who’d stared up at him in pain right before they went into surgery. Hannah didn’t want to be alone tonight, and he didn’t care to examine why he didn’t want to be alone, either. He and Hannah were consenting adults and there was nothing wrong in reaching out to each other for comfort.

“There’s a cot and blanket back here,” she said, leading him past the horse stalls. When they reached the storage room, she flipped on the light.

Alonso took one look at the narrow cot and said, “Not here.” He grabbed the blanket and they walked over to the ladder leaning against the hayloft. “You first.”

He followed her up, making sure she didn’t slip, the swish-sway of her fanny taunting him. They spread the blanket over a soft pallet of hay, then sank to their knees.

The loft was warm and the earthy smell combined with Hannah’s sexy perfume made Alonso’s head spin. He removed the band at the end of her braid, then loosened the strands until the kinky tresses cascaded over her shoulder. He brought a handful of her hair, still damp from her shower, up to his face and breathed deeply. He had no idea why their paths had crossed, but Hannah was good, kind and sweet, and in her arms he knew he’d forget all the bad in the world that stalked him—at least for a night.

He opened his mouth to tell her how much he wanted her, but she pressed her finger against his lips and shook her head. The silent message in her eyes begged him not to make any promises. Tonight was all she wanted from him.

They undressed each other—one button, one zipper at a time. Her boots and jeans, then his. He slid her shirt off her shoulders, kissing each inch of exposed skin. The material bunched at her wrist and with her arms trapped by her sides, he trailed his finger over the swirls of lace on her bra. Her breath caught, then her eyelids closed. She moaned when he cupped her breast and the sensual sound released a wave of testosterone through his body.

“Wait.” Her fingers clamped down on his wrist.

His heart thudded loudly in his ears, and he worried she’d changed her mind. She got to her feet and walked across the loft, then unlatched the door and pushed it open. Light spilled across the blanket, and when she returned and stretched out beside him, her skin shimmered in the sliver glow of the moon.

He removed her bra, tossing it somewhere behind him. He took his time pleasuring her, nibbling, licking the soft mounds. Her fingers sneaked inside the waistband of his briefs, robbing him of what little self-control he possessed.

Hannah might be sweet but she knew what she needed from him and he intended to deliver. They removed the rest of their clothing and he kissed her, deep and slow. Arms and legs became tangled as they lost themselves in the magic of the night.

* * *

A DULL PAIN shot up Alonso’s arm, dragging him from a deep slumber. He didn’t have the energy to open his eyes and his foggy brain struggled to register the weight pressing against him. The heaviness wiggled and a soft sigh reached his ears, then he remembered—Hannah. He slid his arm free from beneath her, his fingers tingling as the circulation returned to his hand. She snuggled closer, sliding her leg between his thighs, and he caressed her back, trailing his fingers over her spine and sexy backside.

He closed his eyes, believing Hannah was a miracle drug. He’d hooked up with a couple of women after he’d returned from Afghanistan and neither one had made him feel renewed. Hannah’s touch had flushed out the ugly side of humanity and replaced it with a sense of hope and peace.

He’d become a trauma surgeon because he wanted to save people’s lives—but medical school hadn’t prepared him for the toll that all the violent injuries would take on his soul. The tragedies followed him home after his shift, sneaking into his bed and haunting his sleep. But tonight, after Hannah had drifted off in his arms, he hadn’t dreamed at all.

He closed his eyes, feeling serene. Content. Maybe he hadn’t needed to walk a thousand miles to clear his head—maybe he’d just needed to walk until he’d found Hannah.

Nothing good lasts forever.

With that thought in mind, he kissed her temple, hoping to rouse her from sleep. He needed her again.

She scratched her toe against his calf. “You’re awake.”

“Are you?”

She rolled on top of him, her hair falling across his face. “I am now.” She pressed kisses to his nose, forehead and chin. He chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m not used to a woman taking the lead.” He felt her smile against his neck.

“I’m not a woman who waits for a man to rescue her.” She playfully bit his shoulder. “I can do anything a man can and then some.”

She’d get no argument from him. He held her face and brought her mouth to his. “You can take the lead anytime.” He gave himself over to Hannah and her healing touch. This time their lovemaking was slow and gentle. The stars were no longer visible in the sky when he closed his eyes and drifted into another dreamless sleep.

* * *

WHEN HANNAH WOKE in the hayloft, she was alone. She stretched on the blanket, twitching at the bits of hay poking her skin. Then she smiled—a smile that blossomed deep inside her.

Alonso had been just what the doctor ordered.

Her smile grew wider. She knew what she’d done with him had been out of character, but if she was going to have a one-night stand, she couldn’t have picked a better man. She could justify her actions all she wanted—she was stressed out, lonely, whatever. But the truth was, if she’d met Alonso when her life hadn’t been so crazy, she’d still have been wowed by him.

Hannah didn’t completely understand the attraction—they had nothing in common. He was city. She was country. He was college educated. She wasn’t. He saved lives. She was just trying to save her brother. He led an exciting life. She didn’t. But none of that had mattered last night.

All good things had to come to an end, and even though she’d rather spend the day in the loft with Alonso, she had chores to do. She dressed, then hurried from the barn. When she entered the house, the smell of frying bacon greeted her nose. Alonso stood in front of the stove, stirring a mountain of scrambled eggs in her cast-iron skillet. Their gazes clashed, then his brown eyes roamed over her disheveled state and his lips curved in a smile.

“You have a piece of hay stuck in your hair.”

She brushed her snarly tresses out of her eyes and searched for something to say.

“I didn’t want to wake Luke to take a shower in his bathroom,” he said. “So I used yours.”

“I’ll be right down.” She raced upstairs, took a quick shower, then changed clothes. On her way back to the kitchen she stopped outside Luke’s door and knocked. She waited for his usual “go away,” but this morning she got no response. She opened the door and poked her head inside the room. His bed was still made and his cell phone sat on the dresser. Where had he gone? Better yet, how long had he been gone?

“Did you see Luke this morning?” she asked when she returned to the kitchen.

“Isn’t he sleeping?” Alonso divided the eggs between three plates.

“No. It doesn’t look as if he slept in his bed.” Guilt tore through Hannah. If she hadn’t been wrapped up in Alonso last night—literally—she’d have gone into the house and checked on Luke when they’d returned from Maloney’s.

“Have you tried his cell phone?”

“He left it on the dresser.” A ploy Luke used when he didn’t want Hannah knowing where he was. “I bet a friend picked him up last night.” She doubted it had been Connor, which left one other suspect—Ben Nichols.

“Have you checked your phone for messages?” Alonso asked.

“Good idea.” She took her cell from her purse and entered the pass code, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Someone left a voice mail.” As she listened to the recording, her legs grew weak and she sank into the chair at the table.

“Hannah, this is Sheriff Miller. Come into the station when you get this. I have Luke here.”

Dear God, what kind of trouble had her brother got into this time? She’d warned him to straighten up, but had he listened to her? No. She set the phone down. “That was Sheriff Miller.”

Alonso’s eyebrows lifted.

“Luke’s at the jail.”

Alonso moved behind her chair and massaged her shoulders. The tender act brought a lump to her throat. “Is he okay?”

“I assume so, or Sheriff Miller would have said something.” If only Alonso’s gentle touch could wash away her fears. Fear that she was failing Luke. She wanted so badly for her brother to succeed—why was he rebelling?

“Did the sheriff say what happened?”

“No, but I’ll find out soon.” The eggs on the plate in front of her began to blur.

Alonso knelt next to her chair and tipped her chin until she looked him in the eye. “If you want, I’ll go with you to see the sheriff.”

Her gaze shifted to his duffel bag by the door. She was dragging Alonso into her problems again, but she was so tired of handling Luke on her own. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Let’s go.” He dumped the eggs back into the skillet, then slid the pan into the fridge.

Alonso drove and Hannah sat in the passenger seat, trying not to worry—fat chance. All she’d done the past two years was worry. If she hadn’t let her ego get the best of her last night, they’d have stayed home and eaten chili and Luke wouldn’t have been able to sneak out of the house.

Alonso parked in front of the jail and they went inside. Sandy—part-time secretary and part-time dispatcher—sat at her desk talking on the phone. She pointed to the sheriff’s door, then cupped her hand over the mouthpiece. “He’s expecting you.”

When Hannah and Alonso entered the office, the sheriff set aside a file he’d been reading and stood. “Hannah.” He eyed Alonso. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around town before.”

Alonso shook hands with the lawman. “Alonso Marquez.”

The sheriff’s gaze swung to Hannah, and when she didn’t offer an explanation for Alonso’s presence, he said, “Have a seat.” He cleared his throat. “Luke’s in hot water.”

Hannah swallowed hard and prayed her fear that she wouldn’t always be able to save Luke’s butt hadn’t finally come true. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t commit the crime but he was with the troublemakers who did.”

“Crime?” The word squeaked past Hannah’s lips.

“The convenience store was robbed at 2:00 a.m. this morning. Luke sat in the car while the other two boys held the clerk up at gunpoint.”

Hannah gasped. She’d been prepared for petty theft or even slashing someone’s tires, but not armed robbery. “What are the names of the boys?” And why weren’t their parents here?

“The gun belonged to Kenny Potter. He and his buddy T. J. Templeton are both from Cañon City. High school dropouts with rap sheets a mile long.”

She’d never met the boys and Luke had never mentioned their names, but she had a feeling they were responsible for her brother suddenly wanting to quit school. “Was anyone hurt?”

The sheriff shook his head. “Maybe it’s time to call in social services, Hannah. I know you’re trying your best, but Luke may be too much for you to handle alone.”

No way would she allow her brother to be put in a group home or sent to live with a stranger.

“I had planned to phone you tomorrow to discuss another situation that came up with him, but now is as good a time as any.”

Hannah braced herself for more bad news.

“Matt Connelly stopped by my office to chat on Friday.”

Hannah looked at Alonso. “Mr. Connelly is the principal at the high school.”

“Luke skipped classes again on Friday,” the sheriff said.

She hadn’t known. Usually the school sent out automated messages when students didn’t show up and their absence hadn’t been reported by a parent or guardian. Hannah had never got the message.

“That makes eleven days in two months.”

“Eleven?” She only knew about six.

“Matt said the school quit contacting you to schedule conferences, because you never returned their calls.”

“I have a ranch to run, but I’m more than happy to speak with someone on the phone.”

“That’s neither here nor there.” The sheriff shrugged. “Matt’s hands were tied, Hannah. He had to expel Luke.”

Hannah felt nauseous. “Expelled for...a week or two?”

“The remainder of the semester.”

“But he’ll fall behind the other kids in his grade.”

“Some students need more time, Hannah. You and your brother have had a lot to deal with the past few years. People are sympathetic, but if Luke doesn’t turn the corner soon, he’ll end up in juvenile detention.” The sheriff walked out from behind his desk. “I’ll get him.”

Hannah felt a headache coming on and rubbed her brow. The school and the sheriff blamed her for Luke’s wild ways—but that wasn’t fair. Luke was sixteen—old enough to know what he was doing. Old enough to know right from wrong. She couldn’t beat him into making better choices. He had to do it on his own.

Alonso squeezed her hand. “It’ll be okay, Hannah. The main thing is Luke isn’t hurt and no one was injured in the robbery.”

Hannah clung to his words, wanting with all her heart to believe things would be okay, but she felt as if her world was spinning out of control and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

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